Lavatory ventilator



March 12, 1946.

L. N. HARBEKE LAVATORY VENTILAIOR Filed July 18, 1944 J INVENTORLMJ-Carbeke,

ATTORNEYS v Patented Mar. 12, 1946 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE LAVATORYVENTILATOR Louis N. Harbeke, Sacramento, Calif. Application July 18,1944, Serial No. 545,453

1 Claim.

This invention relates to lavatory or toilet ventilators, andparticularly represents improvements over the structure shown in myPatent No. 2,161,863, dated June 13, 1939.

The objects of the present invention are to simplify and improve theconstruction and arrangement of the air passage from the toilet bowl andto provide for an increased and more positive draft from the bowlirrespective of temperature differentials within and exteriorally of thelavatory.

A further object of the invention is to provide a simple and inexpensivedevice, and yet one which will be exceedingly efiective for the purposefor which it is designed.

These objects I accomplish by means of such structure and relativearrangement of parts as will fully appear by a perusal of the followingspecification and claim.

In the drawing similar characters of reference indicate correspondingparts in the several views:

Figure 1 is a side elevation, partly in section, of the improvedlavatory structure.

Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional plan on line 2-2 of Fig.1.

a Figure 3 is a fragmentary front view of the wall flue.

Referring now more particularly to the characters of reference on thedrawing, a standard type of toilet bowl is indicated at l which, as iscustomary in modern practice, is arranged in unitary combination with awater tank 2. As is common practice, the bowl is provided with a hingedseat 3 and a hinged cover 4 for the seat. A continuous sealing gasket 5is secured on the seat for engagement with the rim of the bowl; saidgasket extending about the sides and back of the seat but leaving anopening or port P at the front. Another continuous sealing gasket 6 isfixed on the cover for engagement with the seat. These gaskets arepreferably of resilient material, such as rubber or the like. A watersupply passage I extends from the tank into the bowl at the rear andcommunicates with the usual water distributing channel 8 within the bowlat the rim; said passage 1 being formed with a short depending portionat the tank curving into a horizontal portion leading to the bowl.

The toilet combination with my improvement incorporated therein, andwhich is cast as an integral unit, includes a substantially horizontalventilating passage 9 of rectangular cross section and relatively wide.This passage extends rearwardly from an intake port Ill opening into thebowl at the back and above the water intake.

Said passage surrounds and bypasses the adjacent depending portion ofthe water passage 1 as shown in Fig. 2, andextends under the tank 2 to atermination a short distance rearwardly of the same, or to adjacent thewall W of the lavatory.

The passage gradually widens to its rear end and at such end hasoverlapping air-tight engagement with a lateral air intake fitting Hformed on a vertical draft flue [2 intermediate the ends of the latter.This flue is preferably rectangular in cross section and is as large asis practicable to fit between adjacent studs S of the wall and betweenthe inner wall W and the outer wall of the building, so that the flue iscompletely concealed. The flue is open at both ends, projecting at itsupper end through the roof and there having a protecting hood l3. At itslower end the flue extends into any ventilated area A between the groundand the first floor level, which is not directly in direct communicationwith the living quarters of the building, the bottom opening M of theflue l4 preferably being screened as at [5.

In operation, by reason of the open ended flue a draft from the bowlwill be had at all times. If the temperature outside is greater thanthat in the zone of the flue, the draft would be downward through theflue and air would discharge from the same at its lower end or into thearea A. On cold days, on the other hand, when the air inside thebuilding or in the zone of the flue is warmer than the outside, the flowthrough the flue would be from the area A upwardly.

Since the velocity of the air moving in either direction through theflue causes a decrease in,

pressure at the intake fitting H, the air from the passage 9 and thetoilet bowl will be drawn into the flue and carried along with suchmoving air. Due to the straight form of the air passage 9, which leadsdirectly to the flue from the bowl without any angles or corners, theresistance to travel of the air along said passage from the bowl isminimized, and the desired action is obtained with a relatively lowvelocity of air in the flue.

Due to the cutting away of the gasket at the front there is never anystoppage of the flow of air into the passage 9, and any odors in theroom itself will be carried. off into the flue. Also the movement of airinto the passage 9 will be across the bowl from the front, furtherinsuring the efficiency of the action of the ventilating apparatus.

While I have here shown the ventilating air passage as beingincorporated in a certain design of unitary tank and bowl toiletcombination, it will be understood and obvious that said passage can beincorporated in other styles and types of bowl and water-intakecombinations.

From the foregoing description it will be readily seen that I haveproduced such a device as substantially fulfills the objects of theinvention as set forth herein.

While this specification sets forth in detail the present and preferredconstruction of the device, still in practice such deviations from suchdetail may be resorted to as do not form a departure from the spirit ofthe invention, as defined by the appended claim.

Having thus described my invention, what I claims as new and useful anddesire to secure by Letters Patent is:

A toilet structure including a water tank, a bowl, a flushing rim aboutthe upper periphery of the bowl, a water supply pipe leading from thetank into communication with the bowl and flushing rim, such pipeincluding a vertical portion and a horizontal portion, a ventilatingduct opening into the bowl above the horizontal portion of the pipe andthrough the flushing rim, the bottom of the tank forming a portion ofthe top wall of the duct. and the other walls of the duct spaced fromand around the vertical portion of the water pipe and projecting to apoint beyond the rear of the tank, the duct lying in a substantiallycontinuous horizontal plane from end to end thereof.

LOUIS N. HARBEKE.

